Edinburgh does not do enough to sell its food scene, says Tom Kitchin

Edinburgh does not do enough to sell its food scene, says Tom Kitchin

ONE of Scotland’s top chefs claims Edinburgh does not do enough to market itself as a world-class food destination – and is taking his Michelin-starred menu to London’s international foodie elite to prove his point.

Tom Kitchin, chef-patron of one of Scotland’s 12 Michelin one-starred restaurants, The Kitchin, in Leith, today becomes the first Scots chef to launch a pop-up restaurant in the Conservatory at The Georgian on the fourth floor of Harrods.

Harrods Food Hall simultaneously launches Tom Kitchin At Home, the first range of ready-to-go meals based on the menu at his acclaimed Stockbridge gastropub Scran and Scallie, which attracted a Michelin Bib Gourmand this year. Signature dishes such as baked scallop in the shell, steak pie with bone marrow and fish pie with smoked Scottish haddock and langoustine are also available to order online for home delivery.

Such has been the interest from the Knightsbridge store’s well-heeled customers that Harrods has additionally invited Kitchin to create a £175 Christmas Hamper which includes smoked Scottish salmon, venison and duck.

During Kitchin’s week-long residency at the famous Knightsbridge store, the lunch and dinner menus – at £55 and £90 each without wine – echo the signature dishes served at The Kitchin and reflect the chef’s ethos of using fresh seasonal Scottish ingredients such as langoustine from Mull, hand-dived Orkney scallops, Borders roe deer and foraged seaweed from the Isle of Bute.

It is understood Pierre Koffmann, formerly chef-patron of the Michelin three-star La Tante Claire in Chelsea and now at the Berkeley in Knightsbridge will be among the celebrity diners alongside the Michelin-starred Chris and Jeff Galvin.

Kitchin said: “Being invited to showcase Scottish produce at such a high-profile venue was simply irresistible, especially as this year is The Kitchin’s 10th birthday. We’ve spent the last six months doing tastings and run-throughs of the dishes with Harrods chefs in Edinburgh, and the Harrods design team have been at The Kitchin so they can replicate the look of our restaurant at the Conservatory at The Georgian.

“It’s all very exciting to think that this will be the first time many Londoners as well as tourists will taste Scotland’s fantastic natural larder. Modern London foodies are interested in what’s happening in Scotland, but they don’t hear enough about the food scene.

“Scotland should be selling itself more as a food destination, as most other European cities do. I think Edinburgh in particular has rested on its laurels a bit too much. There is more to our capital city than the Castle, festivals and Christmas markets. It has fantastic food, great pubs, coffee shops and delis, yet international tourists don’t know about that.”

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